Herts Ad: Tesco May Need 'Every Little Help'

Herts Ad: Tesco May Need "Every Little Help"
Originally uploaded by tescocampaign.

The Herts Ad today carries an editorial about what it calls "mounting opposition" to Tesco's plans to build a new store on the edge of St. Albans city centre:

"While the company was staging an exhibition of its proposals for the former Evershed print works site, St Albans Green Party was calling on shoppers to boycott its store in St Peter's Street.

Hundreds of people have also visited a website set up by people opposed to the Tesco proposals..."

Chairman of the Civic Society, Eric Roberts, told the Herts Ad that the society was fundamentally opposed to the development, adding that,

"It is the wrong location and I think they have underestimated the volume of traffic it will generate. I do not think the scheme stacks up against the retail base of the city and I don't think we will all starve if we do not get a new Tesco on the site."

Also concerned about Tesco's plans for the site are The Green Party's Simon Grover who is appealing, according to the Herts Ad, for local people to,

"think twice about the supposed benefits of a new supermarket. Such big stores will bring traffic chaos and draw business away from our market and local shops and services. The average new supermarket destroys 276 more jobs than it creates and this offers St Albans nothing it doesn't already have."

According to the Herts Ad, "LibDem Parliamentary hopeful Sandy Walkington warned that the Tesco proposal would destroy a local neighbourhood and add to the stress of the city centre unless it incorporated shuttle buses or a park-and-ride scheme."

Based on figures revealed by Tesco's Michael Kissman to the Herts Ad, fewer people (300) visited Tesco's public exhibit of the plans than have visited this website so far (500 unique users and over 1200 "hits".

We'd be delighted if it weren't for the fact that the article ends on what will no doubt be a down note for many St. Albans residents - Kissman also told the Herts Ad that:

"...the company would consider all comments made about the scheme and would probably submit a planning application to the district council in the spring."

[Full article from the Herts Advertiser available here]